I Was the Sun Before I Became an Immortal

So close!

If only it hadn't been for Lü Ci...

He turned his head toward the entrance of the great hall.

Lü Ci stood there, his face twisted with vengeful satisfaction and a vicious sneer. The sneak-attack sword-qi from moments ago had come from his hand.

Behind him, Elder Zhang and Elder Sun were pale-faced, their protective robes torn and damaged — clearly, the death lake had left them deeply shaken. The looks they cast toward Si Chen were equally venomous.

"Let's see where you run this time!" Lü Ci's hair and beard bristled as the full might of his Nascent Soul Stage cultivation erupted!

Yet before they could strike again, the frenzied creatures inside the hall had their attention drawn entirely by that sudden intrusion.

Those red-eyed humans and demons immediately split off in large numbers, howling as they wheeled around and lunged toward Lü Ci's group, who had just stepped through the entrance.

"Sect Master, watch out!" Elder Zhang's expression shifted sharply. He swept his sleeve and blasted away a red-eyed cultivator charging at him.

Elder Sun hastily drew his spirit sword, crying out in alarm, "What's wrong with these people?! Have they all gone completely mad?!"

Young Master Fang and the grey-robed elder beside him furrowed their brows slightly.

The elder gave a gentle flick of his sleeve, sending a soft yet unyielding surge of energy rippling outward, driving back several frenzied cultivators who had lunged close.

He surveyed the bloody chaos inside the hall — and in particular, the pool that still radiated immense vital blood energy — his gaze thoughtful.

"Flood Dragon blood?"

He was well-traveled and experienced; a single glance told him what that liquid was. A moment of understanding crossed his face.

"Young Master, this blood pool... is strange. I fear it can cloud the mind."

Young Master Fang gave a soft "mm," studying the scene inside the hall with keen interest. His gaze finally settled on Si Chen in the distance — his figure flickering constantly as he dodged the attacks of Heishan and Chifeng — though what he was thinking remained unclear.

Lü Ci had also calmed somewhat by now.

Hatred had clouded his judgment earlier, and he hadn't taken a careful look at the situation inside the hall.

As he casually slapped away a few lunging madmen, he quickly assessed the scene.

There were many cultivators and Demon Beasts still remaining in the hall, but individually they posed little threat. The only real problem was those two third-rank Demon Beasts — dealing with them would be extremely troublesome, especially given their suicidal recklessness.

Fighting under these conditions wasn't worth the cost, and the thought of retreating briefly crossed his mind.

But letting Si Chen go again — that bitter rage lodged in his chest simply refused to go down.

As he wrestled with himself, a vicious idea surfaced in his mind.

His gaze swept across the chaotic battlefield and landed on Si Chen. He let out a cold laugh. "What a pity I can't personally rip out your soul and refine it!"

"But... watching you get torn to shreds by those two beasts, or watching you sink into the same raving madness as them — that has its own particular flavor!"

These words were meant both for Si Chen's ears and as an explanation to Young Master Fang and the others.

"Sect Master Lü, you intend to...?" Young Master Fang raised an eyebrow slightly, seeming to have guessed his intention.

Lü Ci maintained his courtesy toward Young Master Fang and said in a low voice, "Young Master Fang, this place is strange and we should not linger. Since this little beast seems so fond of it here, let him stay forever."

He deliberately emphasized the word "forever."

Young Master Fang and the grey-robed elder exchanged a glance. Their goal on this trip was the draconic relic of the Dragon's Fall — there was no need to get entangled in personal grudges, and even less reason to fight to the death against third-rank Demon Beasts that had lost all reason in such a bizarre place.

The elder gave a slight nod, signaling there was no need to interfere.

Si Chen heard these words and immediately understood Lü Ci's plan.

He intended to seal the exit and trap him here to die!

Lightning flashed beneath his feet as he tried to forcibly break free from Heishan and Chifeng's entanglement and charge toward the entrance.

But Heishan refused to let him go. The bear paw came crashing down again, and Chifeng attacked from the other side simultaneously, forcing him to retreat and dodge once more.

Chirp—! Chirp!

Red Bean on his shoulder was frantic, letting out sharp, furious cries.

It suddenly launched itself from Si Chen's shoulder and flew straight onto Heishan's fuzzy head, pecking and scratching at its scalp over and over, desperately trying to wake it in this way.

Heishan showed no reaction whatsoever. Those crimson eyes held nothing but frenzied killing intent.

"We leave!"

Seeing this, Lü Ci hesitated no longer. He barked the order in a low voice and was the first to retreat toward the entrance.

Elder Zhang and Elder Sun followed close behind. Young Master Fang and the grey-robed elder followed calmly as well. The scattered madmen who lunged at them were no obstacle at all.

Reaching the mouth of the passage, Lü Ci spun around sharply to face the hall. The Nascent Soul Stage spiritual power within him surged wildly, pouring entirely into both palms.

"Little beast, enjoy your final moments!"

He thrust both palms forward with full force, and the concentrated palm-force slammed into the rock wall above the passage entrance!

Rumble——!!

A deafening roar rang out, and the entire hall shook violently.

A vast section of the rock wall above the entrance collapsed with a thunderous crash. Boulders and rubble of all sizes tumbled down, instantly sealing the only passage completely shut.

Through the billowing dust and smoke, one could still faintly hear Lü Ci's cold, satisfied laugh drifting from the other side of the stone pile, growing more distant with each passing moment.

The great hall had become a completely sealed cage.

Si Chen looked at the thoroughly blocked entrance, his brow furrowing slightly.

He could blast it open by force with the Spear of Thunder, but that would take time — and the commotion would be anything but small.

The maddened Heishan and Chifeng, along with all the red-eyed figures surrounding him, would never give him that chance.

Roar——!

Sure enough, with Lü Ci's group gone as fresh targets, pair after pair of crimson eyes swiveled back toward Si Chen in unison.

The chaotic onslaught surged back with full force.

Yet Si Chen's face showed none of the panic Lü Ci had anticipated. His figure flickered ceaselessly through the assault, the Thunder Smite Flash pushed to its absolute limit.

As he maneuvered, he turned over in his mind the sensation from moments ago — when his fist had pressed against Heishan's forehead.

The vitality of the Yimu Everspring Art had indeed worked. In that instant, the struggle and confusion that flashed through Heishan's eyes could not have been faked.

The problem was that delivering vitality one punch at a time, as he had just done, was far too slow and costly.

To dispel the violent madness from their sea of consciousness would require a staggering amount of vitality.

And the frenzied interference of everyone around him would never allow him the peace to do it properly.

His gaze swept across the dense mass of frenzied figures surrounding him, then finally settled on the dark-red blood pool at the center of the hall — still radiating its immense vital blood energy.

The root of the problem lay there.

A thought cut through his mind like a bolt of lightning.

If purifying individuals one by one was this difficult...

If the energy of this blood pool could corrupt all who had been submerged in it, driving them into madness...

Then what if... the energy of the entire pool were completely purified?

A "pool of madness" that had corrupted everything — transformed in reverse into a "pool of purification" brimming with immense vitality?

Could the purified pool water then wash away the violent madness within their bodies — just as it had once corrupted them — and restore their sanity?

It was a bold idea. Wildly ambitious, even.

But Si Chen felt that perhaps... it was worth a try.

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